Leading Difficult-To-Treat Diseases Research With Purpose & Integrity

Tony is a physician, clinical development specialist, and bioethicist with longstanding expertise at the intersection of ethics, rare disease policy, and early‑phase clinical research. In neurosciences. He has developed and marketed products for neurological diseases including pain and central nervous system nausea and vomiting.   Tony  plays a significant national role in the regulatory oversight and standards of neuroscience research. He serves as Chair of the York Ethics Committee, Co‑Chair of the King’s Research Ethics Committee, and contributes to ethics governance through the NHS Rare Disease Forum and the NHS patient standards in rare disease working group. His work with NICE, HRA and emerging companies incorporates ethical analysis into regulatory convergence, clinical trial design, and equitable access for underserved patient groups.

Tony’s  research interests centre on ethical frameworks in early‑stage biotechnology, participant understanding and consent, and the integration of emerging technologies such as AI into healthcare. He has authored and co‑authored several bioethics‑related publications, including work with the HRA/WHO on the ethics of COVID‑19 human challenge studies, and the 2024 paper Reshaping consent to improve participant choice, which examines methods for strengthening informed‑consent practices.

He holds a PhD in Economics and Healthcare Policy, an MBA, an MSc in Microbiology, an MBBS BMedSci, and postgraduate qualifications in medical law and ethics, AI ethics, and higher education. He is a GMC‑registered physician, FHEA, and Global Fellow in Medicines Development, with dual expertise that bridges biomedical innovation and rigorous ethical practice.

Shams is a pharmacist, clinical pharmacologist, and PhD researcher currently completing a PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences at King’s College London, where her research focuses on developing health technology assessment (HTA) and regulatory frameworks for gaseous medicinal products, including oxygen therapy and emerging therapeutic gases.

Alongside her doctoral research, Shams serves as a Supervisor and Assessor for the MSc Regulatory Affairs programme delivered by TOPRA and the University of Hertfordshire, supporting postgraduate research and assessing dissertations in regulatory affairs. She is also a Graduate Teaching Assistant at King’s College London, delivering postgraduate teaching in advanced research methods and evidence synthesis, while supervising postgraduate research projects.

Her expertise includes regulatory strategy, evidence synthesis, systematic and scoping reviews, health policy analysis, Delphi consensus methodology, stakeholder engagement, behavioural science and behaviour change interventions, and the development of evidence-informed recommendations. Her research interests include advanced therapies (ATMPs), medical gases, rare diseases, medical devices, research ethics, and the ethical implementation of artificial intelligence in healthcare.

Shams also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical and Healthcare Education from Anglia Ruskin University, an MSc in Clinical Pharmacology (Pharmaceutical Medicine) from King’s College London, and a Bachelor’s degree in Pharmacy. She is the author of the published book chapter Interpreting Clinical Guidelines for Medicine in Statistics and Data in Healthcare.